Are Indian foods (curries) healthy?

Traditional curry making process adds about 40 calories to one cup of curry

All Indian curries start out by heating Ghee or oil in a pan. Then the onions are fried in hot Ghee till brown. Then the Garlic and Ginger are added and lightly fried. Then the curry spices are added and fried. This is called Masala.

For Vegetable curries, vegetables are added and fried. Little amount of water is added. The dish is cooked on low to medium heat till the vegetables are tender.

For chicken curries, the skin is discarded. Most of the times the chicken is marinated. Marinated or not, the chicken is browned, added to Masala. The dish is cooked on low to medium heat till the chicken is tender.

For lamb curries, the visible fat is trimmed off. Most of the times the lamb is marinated. Marinated or not, the lamb is browned, added to Masala. The dish is cooked on low to medium heat till the lamb is tender.

From health point of view following points should be noted

1. The curry spices themselves are beneficial to your health, Fenugreek Cinnamon Cloves and Nutmeg mimic insulin. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory , anti-ulcerative, detoxifies enzymes in the liver, helps digestive tract.

2. Masala adds about one teaspoon of Ghee and one teaspoon of curry spices to one cup of curry. This is about 40 add-on calories ( 2 calories for curry spices and 38 calories for Ghee) per cup of curry.

3. Ghee adds saturated fats and cholesterol. We can mitigate it by using Canola oil.

4. The vegetables are overcooked, destroying most of the vitamins

5. In making chicken curry, whole chicken is used. The organs and skin are discarded. Discarding skin eliminates a lot of saturated fat and cholesterol.

6. In making lamb curry. the visible fat is trimmed of. Normally sections of bones from shank are intermixed. The organs may be cooked separately. Most of the saturated fat is reduced by trimming. The bones add the nutrients associated with the connective tissue

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